10 Tips For Surviving 2014 Sasquatch! Music Festival

2014 Sasquatch! Music FestivalThis year, Sasquatch announced that in 2014 the festival will join other major festivals like Coachella in expanding to two weekends. Memorial Day will no longer be the only holiday weekend to experience Sasquatch, but July 4th will also bring hundreds of thousands back to the Gorge for a second Sasquatch weekend. The best part of this announcement is that the July version of Sasquatch will feature a completely different line-up.2014 Dates: Friday 5/23 – Sunday 5/25 AND Friday 7/4 – Sunday 7/6Location: The Gorge, Washington StateTicket Info: Tickets for the Memorial Day Sasquatch festival will go on sale in February. Sasquatch no longer sells one-day tickets, so you must purchase a four-day pass. The four-day pass comes with access to general camping. It is unclear when the July festival tickets will go on sale, but we are assuming it will be in early May.

1. Buy your tickets in February when they go on sale

If you are set on attending Sasquatch 2014 then I highly recommend buying your ticket the day they go on sale (February 2014, exact date TBD). It is tempting to wait and see if tickets on secondary sites will drop below face value. Mostly because they have dropped in price the past two years. In 2011, tickets dropped below $250 in May, and in 2012 they dropped to $280 in March, but shot back up to over face value in April. Bottom Line: The festival is getting more popular every year.

Is it possible to save money and buy tickets secondhand in March? YES. But if you really want to go to Sasquatch 2014, I recommend buying the tickets for face value in February and not risking the tickets never dropping in price.

2. Arrive on Thursday!

The music doesn’t officially start until Friday, however if you want to truly experience Sasquatch, arriving on Thursday is crucial. You will avoid six-eight hours of lines, and get a bonus night of partying in the campgrounds.

In 2012, we arrived at 7pm on Thursday, two hours after the campgrounds opened. We waited in a quick, one hour-long line of cars. I describe the hour as quick because if you arrive Friday, your wait will be at least triple in length, if not more. Here’s a shot of the four hour car line on Friday:

The first thing you need to do at Sasquatch is exchange your paper ticket for a wristband. On Thursday, we waited in a 10 minute line to get our wristbands. On Friday, the line wrapped around the campsite, and was a minimum of four hours long. Don’t take my word for it. Check out the picture below of the Friday wristband line.

3. Bring clear liquor in sealed water bottles

In the campgrounds, you can drink all the beers and liquor that you bring along with no problems. However, once you enter the festival gates each day, everything changes. The security guards strip search you and throw away anything other than bottled water, and once inside beers cost $11 to $14 for 24 oz cans. Instead of paying the cost of a 12-pack for one beer, use this awesome video tip to bring in your own bottle of vodka. Then all you need buy on site is ice-cold mixers! (Obviously be smart, and be careful mixing them in plain sight of security, they will kick you out.)

4. Bring a lot of water

There are waterspouts scattered throughout the campgrounds, but they aren’t always close-by, and it isn’t the best tasting drinking water. On your way to Sasquatch, stop at Walmart or Target and buy two gallons of water for each person in your campsite. You won’t regret it, as you’ll have enough fresh water for drinking, cooking, brushing your teeth, etc. Drink water, water, and more water.

5. Buy your ice the night before

The line for the campground convenience store is pretty long most of the day. We found it pretty easy to just stop at the store on the walk back to the campgrounds every night after the music ended. Throw the ice in the cooler, and you wake up with ice cold beer without having to wait in a long line.

6. Prepare for the weather

The weather at The Gorge can be 85 degrees and sunny one moment, then pouring rain the next. Make sure your tent is in good enough shape to handle pouring rain and heavy winds. Bring two tarps; one for underneath your tent, and one to create a canopy to shield from both the sun and rain. We opened the back of our mini-van’s tailgate, tied a tarp to each corner, and tied the other side to our coolers. Just like that, we had a nice shady porch.

You also want to make sure you bring a backpack with you to the festival grounds each day. The walk from your campsite to the festival grounds is a good 20-30 minutes, and you will only want to do it once each day. So be prepared, and pack the following to ensure you enjoy your 6-8 hours away from the campgrounds:

Poncho – When it rains, it pours.

Sunscreen – Sunburn is not fun.

Water bottle – There are also a couple of places to refill your water bottle inside the festival.

Snacks – They allow you to bring in one bag of food.

Jacket/Sweatshirt – It can get cold at night.

7. Bring something to cook with

The best option is to buy a little propane burner and two pots (one for water and one for food). Make sure you get a burner that can handle high winds, otherwise you’ll never get food hot or water boiling. Bring canned food that’s easy to heat and eat. We also brought an REI french press so we could make hot coffee each morning. You will see experienced Sasquatchers coming with full grills, coolers stocked with expensive meat, and setting up buffets three times a day. I just don’t think that’s necessary. I’d rather spend the day being lazy and drinking instead of cleaning hardened food off all my dishes.

8. Bring headphones

The campground parties are loud, tend to go all night, and the campsites are set up really close to each other. If you have trouble sleeping when it’s noisy, bring headphones or earplugs to sleep with.

9. Bring music and light

Make sure to bring a boombox that runs on batteries. You’ll want music playing all day, and your car battery can only handle so much. They don’t allow fires at the campgrounds, so you will want to have a way to keep your site lit. We brought a few lanterns and set them around the chairs. It had all the ambience of a fire, but none of the heat.

10. Don’t pay for premier camping

This festival is not for people looking for luxury. Premier camping is just a way to suck more money out of the people who can afford it. The shower lines are long everywhere, and the walk from premier camping to the festival is only a few minutes shorter. Save the money and use it to buy an extra 30-pack of beer, you’ll always go through one more case than you think.

UPDATE: Here is commenter Erin’s take on “Should I do premier camping at Sasquatch?”: Sure, if you are 20 and love the stench and noise of all night partying then general camping will suffice. Premier camping is a very cheap oasis in comparison. With fees,a $191 prem camping pass can be used by 6 people max in one vehicle. You can shower any time. lines are short. lots of space. but the real crux is the shuttle. easy on and off…avoiding a LONG walk back to General. AND the biggie is that you can leave anytime of the day with Premier… OH there was also a separate entrance for Prem Campers…saving more time at the gate.

18 Responses to 10 Tips For Surviving 2014 Sasquatch! Music Festival

Fruit! We had some bananas, but they were gone within the first day. Fruit is great for staying hydrated and curing hangovers, and if I could do it again, I would have two bags of oranges, apples, and bananas.

Good article! You got the most important one with the water bottle swap!

Last year we tried bringing some dry ice and threw it down on the bottom of our coolers, putting bags of regular ice on top and that lasted the entire weekend, and saved us a lot of money on ice every night because we had about 8 coolers for our group.

Another big thing would to bring area covers; big open tents, tarps and poles, things that can can provide shelter because if anyone remember last year, there was some pretty shitty weather. Those covers can save a lot of hassle and provide a lot more comfort.

If you have the room and a big enough group going, bring some old ratty furniture.
Last year we had a couch, a small self cranked merry go round, lawn chairs, lawn games. Bring things to have fun! If I remember correctly concerts don’t start until around noon. But, while you’re there it gets hot and bright early and you will wake up! Having a frisbee, football, or cornhole provides some extra entertainment, plus it’s a great way to meet your neighbors and get to know them.

You don’t want to be “that” neighbor. We all know what it means, and it’s not hard. Just don’t be them.

Bring as much water and healthy food as you can, it will save you a lot of trouble while you’re there, and a lot of pain the week after. Food there is overpriced (duh) and it’s disgusting. Bring food from home; it’s cheaper and you’ll like it more.

Personally I’m not a fan of the premier camping. Personal opinion, I’ve done it once, wouldn’t do it again. There are a lot of nice things in there like the showering, the space, and the shuttle (the shuttle is hands down the best part)
In my opinion, one of the biggest ideas behind Sasquatch has always been friendship and meeting new people! I just felt that when I was premier, it took a lot of that away. If you’re just looking to hangout with your friends and people you know, and all you’re there for is the music, then I’d say do it. But for me and everyone I go with (we’ve got a group of about 50 going this year) we love the camping. We have all the big parties and every year we meet new people and make new friends that we meet up with every year after.

If you have friends that have gone, or been to any type of festival ask them. You know them, they know you, they’ll have a better idea of the kind of things you might want or need.

Have fun and be safe this year everyone! IF YOU COME PAST A LARGE GROUP WITH A FEW DISCO BALLS, COUCHES, LAWN GAMES, AND BINGE DRINKING DEVICES COME AND SAY HI!!!
(There’s also possibility of a uhaul truck being rented and converted into a dance room)

Thanks for the additional tips, especially the dry ice one! It’s also good to know there are more people who say no to premier camping. I’ve had a few comments/emails from people telling me I’m crazy for recommending people not to do premier camping.

Hey Dan, Great Article. Do you know if there are any rules against driving away from the campground and returning later during the festival? I have something going on Sunday evening, but I want to return for Monday’s shows.

They allow you to do it. However, make sure you park in a manner that makes it easy to get in and out. Some people will park you in if they don’t know you are planning on leaving and coming back. When you leave, be sure to tell the two neighboring campsites that you are coming back so that they don’t spread into your space.

Lots of good advice… except: DO NOT TAKE THIS GUYS ADVICE RE PREMIER CAMPING. Sure, if you are 20 and love the stench and noise of all night partying then general camping will suffice. Premier camping is a very cheap oasis in comparison. With fees,a $191 prem camping pass can be used by 6 people max in one vehicle. You can shower any time. lines are short. lots of space. but the real crux is the shuttle. easy on and off…avoiding a LONG walk back to General. AND the biggie is that you can leave anytime of the day with Premier… OH there was also a separate entrance for Prem Campers…saving more time at the gate. I can only say the exact opposite of this author on the Prem Campg pass. Once youve done both…please trust me…you will NEVER go back to General. IMHO the premier pass is the only bargain going at the festival.

Erin, thanks for the comment, and easy with the caps lock button. I’ve updated the post to include your opinion. Having never been in premier camping, I can only use the info I’ve heard from campers who have. So I feel since you’ve experienced both yourself that your opinion fits in this article nicely.

We had to fit our gear onto a checked bag too – a tent, ultralight sleeping bag and a sleeping pad are the important ones of course, but a lantern torch was really nice and Dan would say his camping french press coffee maker was a must. Plenty of layers of clothes are important, and synthetics and wool are compact and lightweight for packing. Enjoy!

Be careful about drinking your own drinks inside the venue! A friend forgot what she brought in technically wasn’t allowed, which sounds stupid but it’s easy to do when everyone around you is drinking and partying, and was drinking whiskey out of a clear water bottle, also stupid, near a security guard. The guard was on her in a second and was a power-tripping asshole. A group of the guards surrounded our group, searched our bags, took us to a security station, held us for an hour, and then kicked us out for the day. It really sucks to miss something you paid so much money for so don’t be stupid!